The Yellow River Boys - Urinal St. Station (2013)

This project was conceived by Actor/Writer/Comedian Tim Heidecker. He is best known for his zany TV show on Adult Swim titled "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" Although this album is rooted in comedy, there is an earnestness to the song writing that is very disarming.

Potty humor lyrics aside, these guys are genuinely skilled musicians who have made a very good Southern Rock album. The lead guitar work definitely got my attention. The solo on the final track "Hot Piss Drinker" absolutely smokes. The production is also top-notch. Any fan of Southern/Country-tinged rock and/or piss drinking should find enjoyment in this album.

The Yellow River Boys performing:

The Yellow River Boys are:

(These are clearly pseudonyms)

Charles "Charley" Roobirt (AKA Tim Heidecker) - Vocals & Guitar

Lepard Pulwer - Lead Guitars & Backing Vocals

Kit Grave Jr. - Guitars

Dud Nickels Jr. - Bass

Lou Pupper - Organ

Williie Christmas - Drums

Shelvey Crick - Pianos

Jereb Mean - Harmonicas & Melodica

Review from Rateyourmusic.com

Quote:"The human mouth smiles the most when it's being used as a makeshift urinal."

Yellow River Boys is the newest musical project from Tim Heidecker of Tim & Eric. Like previous albums about Herman Cain and Bob Dylan, Urinal Street Station sticks to a strict concept. As evidenced by the title, the theme is getting pissed on and drinking piss.

If you heard "Hot Piss" on YouTube last year and thought that concept would be limiting, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Our hero continues to turn apple juice into that sweet, sweet nectar through all ten tracks, but each one adds a new dimension to his story. Sometimes he's drinking that hot piss out of jugs, sometimes out of the family dog bowl and sometimes down at the local piss club, straight off the tap. Neil Hamburger (Awesome Show's James Quall) shows up as Mr. Mudd, who prefers defecation to urination.

By now you're surely sold on the concept, but what about the music? Well fellow piss drinkers, the music will not disappoint. Each track has a country-rock/americana feel but there's a lot of variety here. Some songs lean into honky-tonk, some pull back to ballad territory and every one is extremely catchy. You WILL catch yourself singing about drinking hot piss so maybe don't listen to Yellow River Boys right before work. There's some pretty heavy guitar work on the B-side, especially the solo in "Hot Piss Drinker". (Supposedly James Valentine of Maroon 5, if I'm not being pranked.)

VICE magazine declared Urinal St. Station the best album of 2013. I didn't receive my copy until January 2014, but I wouldn't be surprised if this record is my favorite album of this year. The piss-yellow vinyl pressing was limited to 500 copies, but as of this writing they're shockingly still available on Drag City.Urinal St. Station